Rome's "original" Coliseum needs no description nor introduction whatsoever, being one of the most famous things in the world, probably second only to Coca-Cola :)
What not everybody knows is that Rome also has a "cubic" Coliseum as well. It's one of the main buildings of the borough of E.U.R., one of the most special modern areas of Rome. Designed in the 30's to host the World Exhibit of 1942 (the name E.U.R. itself is an acronym for "Esposizione Universale Roma" ("Rome's Universal Exhibit") the E.U.R. was built according to the most modern architectural standards for the time, and what makes it different from other areas of Rome is that it's an area built from scratch, without being something based on pre-existing structures and without being just low-class housing.
This building, initially called "Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana" (Palace of the Italian Civilization) and in post-war times renamed "Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro" (Palace of the Labour Civilization) was designed by a team of architects in 1936 whose project was selected among others proposed, was intendedly a "modern version" of Rome's most iconic monument, and it imitated its structure, with the arches, and statues under them, just like the ancient Coliseum used to be. You may now wonder... Where are the statues? This is another sad Italian story: when the construction was interrupted for the war, and the the Fascist Regime eventually fell, everything was left the way it used to be, and all the statues, complete and ready to be shipped to the site, never made it to Rome, and are still awaiting their fate in dusty warehouses.
The main reason for the construction of the E.U.R. is propaganda: the Fascist Regime wanted to show the world the power and the modernity of the "new" (post World War I) Italy, and thus poured huge resources into this project, which was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. And maybe this fact, which could be considered as a negative thing, adds to the place's atomsphere, because it gives the whole place an "interrupted dream" nuance, so that who visits can try imagning what the place would look once completed.
What not everybody knows is that Rome also has a "cubic" Coliseum as well. It's one of the main buildings of the borough of E.U.R., one of the most special modern areas of Rome. Designed in the 30's to host the World Exhibit of 1942 (the name E.U.R. itself is an acronym for "Esposizione Universale Roma" ("Rome's Universal Exhibit") the E.U.R. was built according to the most modern architectural standards for the time, and what makes it different from other areas of Rome is that it's an area built from scratch, without being something based on pre-existing structures and without being just low-class housing.
This building, initially called "Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana" (Palace of the Italian Civilization) and in post-war times renamed "Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro" (Palace of the Labour Civilization) was designed by a team of architects in 1936 whose project was selected among others proposed, was intendedly a "modern version" of Rome's most iconic monument, and it imitated its structure, with the arches, and statues under them, just like the ancient Coliseum used to be. You may now wonder... Where are the statues? This is another sad Italian story: when the construction was interrupted for the war, and the the Fascist Regime eventually fell, everything was left the way it used to be, and all the statues, complete and ready to be shipped to the site, never made it to Rome, and are still awaiting their fate in dusty warehouses.
The main reason for the construction of the E.U.R. is propaganda: the Fascist Regime wanted to show the world the power and the modernity of the "new" (post World War I) Italy, and thus poured huge resources into this project, which was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. And maybe this fact, which could be considered as a negative thing, adds to the place's atomsphere, because it gives the whole place an "interrupted dream" nuance, so that who visits can try imagning what the place would look once completed.
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